I'm not sick
by Dyde
Summary: Percy is under a lot of pressure with his quests and duties around camps. Combine that with sleeping troubles and he gets sick. Only he hates to admit it. But does he fool Annabeth? Slight Percbeth, set before the Last Olympian.


This is the first story I've posted here and the first one I've written about the Percy Jackson series. Hope you enjoy!

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Percy woke up to the sound of someone banging on his cabin door. Groaning he rolled over his in bed, covering his head with his pillow. He was not ready for the day. He didn't want to train, he didn't even want to get up. The knocking on his door increased.

"Seaweed brain! You'll miss breakfast if you don't hurry up" he heard Annabeth call with a sigh.

Personally, Percy wasn't against that idea. His head was throbbing and his stomach felt like there were waves in it. And for once, he wasn't glad to be reminded of the ocean. Slowly he swung his legs off the side of the bed, placing his head in his hands.

"Coming wise girl, go on ahead without me." He called through his hands. He tried his best to keep his voice even, and not sound pained.

"You okay?" Her voice came from the other side of the door, this time more concerned.

"Yeah, just a late start. I'll be there, go on ahead." He called, getting up and moving to the bathroom. Judging by the silence that followed he figured Annabeth's stomach won out and she went to go eat. Staring at himself in the mirror he saw that he looked how he felt. Turning on the water he ran his hands in it, before splashing it in his face. It helped a little, but as the water dripped off he felt the headache creep back slowly. Sighing, he pulled on some clean clothes and left his cabin, heading to the mess hall.

Taking his usual seat next to Annabeth he sat down, placing his head in his hands. His head was still throbbing, but his stomach had settled a little. At least until he was assaulted by the aroma of everyone's breakfast. He let out a soft groan as his stomach did another roll.

The slap Annabeth gave his shoulder didn't help. "Hey, sleep well last night?" Annabeth asked, looking at him concerned.

"Uh... yeah. Fine." Percy lied, unconvincingly. The past few nights he hadn't been sleeping well. Actually, he had woken up in the middle of the night from a nightmare, and was unable to fall asleep until early in the morning. Still, no one needed to know that he, the hero of Camp Half Blood was having nightmares like a kid.

Annabeth frowned, clearly knowing that he was lying. "Percy, you don't look so well."

"I'm fine, okay?" Percy snapped, turning his head sharply to glare at Annabeth.

A few different expressions passed over Annabeth's face. Hurt. Anger. Defiance. Concern.

Percy let out a sigh, running a hand through his hair. "Sorry. I'm just... a little tired."

"Maybe you should take the day off. You should eat up though. Food might help." She said, pushing a plate of muffins towards him.

Percy quickly shoved the muffins away. "Food wont help." He said quickly, trying to keep his stomach in place.

Annabeth frowned, trying to figure out what was wrong with her best friend. She thought for a moment, nibbling on a muffin. "Water..." The thought came to her after a moment. He was a son of Poseidon, maybe all he needed was a dip in the lake. "Maybe you should take a dip in the lake. I works with healing most of your wounds. You haven't gone swimming in a while have... you... you aren't listening... Percy?" She asked, shaking his shoulder gently.

Percy was asleep with his head in his hands. His shoulders were rising and falling slowly.

Honestly, Annabeth didn't want to wake him up. Clearly he was exhausted, and lying about the sleeping. Still, she couldn't just let him sleep in the mess hall. She shook his shoulder slightly more aggressive.

Percy woke up with a start. He looked around, realizing where he was. He avoided Annabeth's prying gaze.

"I was saying that you should take a dip in the lake. You don't seem well."

"I'm fine, I said. Just a little tired." Percy snapped again.

"Percy, I'm worried..."

"Don't be! I'm fine. I just need... fresh air." Percy said angrily. He stood up, walking away form the table with one hand on his head.

Just outside of the mess hall he was pulled aside by Chiron.

"Ah, Percy. Perfect. I need you to help teach the new campers sword skills. You're one of our best senior campers." He asked, clasping a hand on his shoulder.

Percy staggered under the impact a little. The last thing he wanted to do right now was go training. "Sure." Percy replied.

Following the camp counselor to the training arena, he was unaware of Annabeth watching him go, having just left the mess hall. He approached the group of new campers who were putting on their armor and reading some weapons. It hardly took more than a glance for Percy to realize these campers had little experience. Still his head was pounding and the rabble of the crowd was grating on his mind. Mercifully, they quieted down when Chiron called them to order.

Uncapping his sword Riptide, which was resting as a pen, he pulled on some armor himself, while Chiron got things situated. Returning, he saw another senior camper in full armor, with his own sword standing next to Chiron.

"Percy, I thought it would be best to start off with a demonstration." Chiron said. "Jayce has volunteered."

Percy nodded, hoping to get this over with quickly. "Sure." Luckily for Percy, the adrenaline starting to pump through his body was enough to put his queasy stomach out of his mind for the moment. Taking a stance, he waited for Jayce to make the first move.

He side stepped the sudden thrust, knocking his sword aside and swiping with an attack for his own. However, Jayce parried his strike and retaliated with one of his own.

Normally Percy was a much better fighter, but he could hardly focus with the pounding in his head.

"Having a hard time keeping up?" Jayce taunted, after countering another one of Percy's strikes. Percy felt his temper start to rise at the smug look Jayce kept. Their fight continued and Jayce never let up with the remarks. Percy and Jayce had never gotten along particularly well in camp before, and Percy wasn't feeling well enough to ignore the remarks like he usually did.

A little distracted Percy failed to notice the downward strike with Jayce's sword. Percy struggled to hold onto riptide as his blade was sent towards the ground. He felt the butt of Jayce's sword connect to his helmet, making his head flare up with pain.

"Aw, did I hurt you Percy?"

Percy felt his anger get the best of him as he brought his sword up, knocking Jayce off balance. In a swift movement he had grabbed Jayce's hand holding his sword and twisted it behind him. With a loud crack Jayce cried out before dropping his sword. Percy kicked the back of his knees before planting a foot on his back and kicked him into the dirt.

He stood there panting, as the new campers looked at him. After a moment they exploded into applause. Catching his breath he met eyes with Chiron.

"I'm taking a break." He said before storming off, ripping off and discarding his armor along the way. Still fuming over Jayce he found himself wandering off without a general direction in mind. Soon he found himself along side the lake. His head was still pounding, and his stomach was protesting not having eaten anything in a while. Maybe he just needed a swim. Praying that the water would help, he dove into the water.

The second he dove into the water he felt his headache fade into a dull throbbing. His stomach settled a little as well. Finally finding a break he let himself float in the lake, unconcerned about drowning or trying to swim. Being a son of Poseidon had some nice perks. Trying to focus on the movement of the water and the various sea creatures that said hello to him he almost missed the sound of someone calling his name. Still, the faint echo of his name being called reached him.

Swimming to the surface of the water, he broke through, stepping onto the beach as dry as before he jumped in. Still, the second he left the water he felt the nausea and headache waiting for him. He groaned, holding his head. Looking up at the person who called him, he found Annabeth walking around with a plate of sandwiches.

"Seaweed brain, it's lunch. No one has seen you for hours, I figured I'd find you here. What's up?" She asked, her stormy gray eyes searching.

Lunch? Just how long had he been in the lake?

"I'm fine. I just needed a break." He said simply, trying not to meet Annabeth's gaze.

"Well I brought you some lunch. You didn't have breakfast, you need to eat something or you'll get sick." She lectured, holding out the plate of blue sandwiches.

_Why did you have to say sick?_ Percy's stomach did a flip at the mention of food. "I'll pass. I'm not very hungry..." He said weakly.

"Percy, are you sick?" Annabeth said suddenly, her prying gaze being replaced with concern.

"No! I'm not. I'm fine." He replied stubbornly, taking a sandwich of f the plate. He tried to eat it quickly, hoping it would stay in his stomach. He almost immediately regretted that decision.

"Percy? You look a little green..." Annabeth said hesitantly, reaching a hand out.

Percy felt his stomach reject the blue intrusion. He ran to a nearby bush and began to empty the contents of his stomach painfully. A few minutes later he staggered away, about to collapse on the ground. He felt Annabeth catch him, helping him down gently.

"You idiot. If you felt sick you should have told someone. You should have told me. You never should have left your bed." Annabeth scolded, moving some hair from his forehead.

"I'm not sick! I don't get sick." Percy replied, closing his eyes. "I felt fine just a moment ago."

"You just felt fine cause you were in the water. If you are still feeling bad after you leave it you are sick." She countered. "You can't live in the water forever."

"Well..." Percy started, being cut off by Annabeth slapping his shoulder.

"You know what I mean. Everyone get's sick Percy. You're no exception." Looking him over once again Annabeth was surprised she hadn't noticed he was sick earlier. He was pale, and from the bags under his eyes it was clear he hadn't had a good nights sleep in a while. "When was the last time you slept well?"

"I'm sleeping fine..." Percy replied, looking up to Annabeth's eyes which showed that she didn't believe him.

"Percy..." She asked softly.

He sighed. "A week. I keep waking up in the middle of the night."

Annabeth pursed her lips. "Percy, you need sleep. It's not good to go without sleep. It makes you sick and cranky and you can't keep beating up campers." She said with a slight smirk.

Percy couldn't help but smile a little. "I would sleep if I could..." He muttered.

"Close your eyes." Annabeth said after a moment.

Percy looked at her confused. "What?"

"Just close your eyes seaweed brain."

Percy sighed but closed his eyes. He felt Annabeth pull him gently so he was resting on her shoulder.

"Listen to the waves and just relax. Try and sleep." Annabeth instructed softly, one hand gently rubbing his back.

Percy listened to the gentle waves crashing onto the shore and the sound of Annabeth's slow, steady breathing. He felt her hand gently massaging his back and he felt himself beginning to become tired. Before long he had drifted off to sleep, the first restful one he had had in over a week.

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Thanks for reading! I appreciate any feedback you might have on the story, and I hope you enjoyed it!


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